Case Study: Kansas State University achieves a 200% higher direct-mail response rate with Ruffalo Noel Levitz’s phone-responsive multichannel solution

Kansas State University - Customer Case Study

Kansas State University partnered with Ruffalo Noel Levitz to manage its year‑round, on‑campus phonathon operations and expand into an integrated direct mail and email annual giving program. Faced with the reality that phonathon callers cannot reach 100% of a callable database, KSU needed a way to engage donors who didn’t answer calls or had bad phone numbers and convert missed contacts into gifts.

Ruffalo Noel Levitz implemented a phone‑responsive direct mail appeal—personalized letters sent daily beginning in fall 2014 to more than 6,424 alumni and prospects who were not reached by phone—supported by analytics and a multichannel strategy. The campaign generated a 4.5% response rate (average gift $120.57), a response rate 200% higher than KSU’s other FY15 direct mail solicitations, with six of eight targeted colleges posting response rates of 5.0% or higher.

Kansas State University

Lindsey Oakes

Assistant Director of Annual Giving and Student Programs